Spiral separator



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' Patented Febi 1 1 Answer comrnnnonlnn i Application fiiea'ii rni, 1925.; striu no; 1a755.

- The invention relates to spiral separators.

and particularly to an improved type in which I utilizejets of air to-augment'the action of the centrifugal force in effecting a more complete separation than that'ob tainable by the ordinary gravity spiral.

In a' prior patent granted to me, I have disclosed means for discharging jetsof airor other fluid from the bottom of a' runway 5; 'so as to augment the separating action'in a L spiral separator.

One 01": the advantages of the construction disclosed is that an eXtremeefficient separation can be secured with a ii unway much lower' than those depend ng solely on the action of gravityand centrifugal force.

The present. invention relatesto the sepa- 'rator operatln'g on the same broad principle as that of my former patent and aims-to provide a structure embodying certain de-' tailed improvements. In my former patent the runway is substantiallyfiat and no 'means are shown for inclosing the same. I

In the present invent-ion the runway is in 'the form of aspiral pipe which is 'entirely enclosed so that 'there is no escape of dust or small particles of co'al discharged into the atmosphere throughout the length of the runway'by the influence of'the blast.

Other advantageous features will be apparent from the following description and the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the appended claims.

"An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanylng drawings in which Fig.1 is an elevation with portions.

broken away tratlon;

F 1g. 2 1s a transverse section on line 22 of Fig. 1;

for the purpose of better illus- Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a por-' tion of the spiral runway pipe and its enclosure.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 10 represents a series. of uprightswhich may be of angle iron or other suitable material secured to a suitable base, not shown, and connected by any convenient type of structural bracing. The uprights carry brackets 12 which support a substantially spiral or helical shaped casing 1a. This casing is sup plied near its upper end with a suitable fluid under pressure through a pipe 16 which is connected with a'pump or centrifugal fan which is indicated conventionally at 18. Lo-

1 street snrsmi'ron suitable ca tedwithin the "14;. is 1 unway pipe V 20,0f spiral form which is of substantially 1 the same pitch asthe' casing l h The run- :way pipe is provided with: a. multiplicity of obliquely inclined ports-'22 which communicate with the interior of thecasing 20 andi'pe'rmits fluid therefrom tobefdischarged 1 I travel of thematerialsflowingon the separator and augments separating actions 7:

The runway pipe 20 -is 'adj ustablysup- 7 ported within the casing l iabya plurality of radially extending bolts'Q f which are threaded through suitable. openings in the wall of the casing. Tt will beiunderstood that by manipulating these boltsthe relative position between the runway pipe and the casing can be varied so that they can be elther: concentric ,or eccentric as desired.

The upper end of -the casing is closed by a cap 26 which is secured to a' flanged ring 3 28 carried by the casing, the securing bolts '30 passing through clearance holes 32 'in the cap so as to permit the relative adjustment between the pipe and the casing referred to; At thelower end the casing is provided with a similar cap or closure 32 secured by-boltsB-ft which pass through clear ,ance holes 36.

The lower end charge over the edge 38'andthe slate to discharge over the edge iO,-- The edge 38 will usually be at a slightly higherelevation than the edge 40. The coal or lighter material handled, because'of theaction of centrifugal force, and the action of the fluid jets discharged through the oblique ports 22, will flow in an outer path along the separator M pipe and will havea tendencyto climb the wall thereof. Naturally as this stream of coal reaches the lower end of the pipe, the coal is in the outer zone and it'will readily climb over the edge 38 and be discharged as indicated by the arrows 42 into a coal chute .ofthe separator pipe 20 pr0]ects beyond the cover plate 32 and is cut away as shown to permit the coal to disin such a'idirection. that it influencesrthe 44: leading to a suitable bin, not shown.

The slate and other refuse due to greater friction and weight'will be discharged inwardly as indicated by the arrows-46, such material falling over the edge 40 into the chute 48 which directs this materialto the bin. The intermediate consisting of a mixture of coal and slate which fails to go over either edge 38 or 40 material I is discharged intoa; chute 49flleading to a bin or in some cases to another separator. V The upper end of the separator pipe as shown projects beyond 'the cover 26 of the casing and a suitable feed chute 501s indicated for directing the mixed materials I to the intake .end of the separator pipe.

Though I have described with great particularity the specific embodiment of the mvention herein illustrated, it is not to be construed that I. am limited thereto as various.

. modifications in design and arrangement may -be"ma'de by those skilled ineth-e'aart wlthout departing from the invention as defined. the: appended claims.

. What lzclaimisz r 1. A separator comprising ,a pipe of spiral form having its inlet at a higher elevation than its outlet so that the material to be separated travel-s downward by gravity and means for discharging jets of fluid through j the Walls of said pipe to assist in the separating action.

2. A separator comprising an air upright pipe of spiral form through which the materi-al to be separated travelsdownward by gravity, :a casing surrounding said pipe and 7 means for supplying a fluid to said casing, said pipe having a multiplicity of ports formed in'the wall thereof. v r

3. A separator comprising apair of spira I pipes nested one within the other and whose i the conv-olutions are inclined to a horizontal plane, the inner pipe having a series of ports therein and the outer pipe being connected. with a source of fluid pressure.

l. A separator comprising a spiral pipe through which the material to be separated travels, a casing surrounding said pipe, means for supplying a fluid to said casing, said pipe having a series of ports therein through \vhichfluid is admitted to assist in separation of materials travelling through it, the pipe being adapted to rechum,

.ceive the mixed materials at its upper end and having its lowenend cut away and shaped so that one class of material is CllS- charged inward. r

5. A separator 'compris'ing a pipe of spiral form through which the material to beseparated 'travels,-means for discharging jets "of fiuid through the wa'lls of the pipe to assist the separating action, said pipe being adapted; to receive the mixed materials at its upper end and Thaving its lower end formed to permit one class of material to be discharged over the outer edge of the pipe and another class ozt'ma-terial to be discharged over the inner edge.

6. Aseparator comprising a pipe of spiral iorm through which the material t o-be sep- .a-rated travels, a plurality oi'ports-f-ormed therein, a casing surrounding the pipe for the greater part "of its length, said pipe having a cut away discharge portion excharged outward and another class is distending beyond the casing and means for porting means whereby the pipe can be supported either concentric with or eccentric to the casing, said pipe having ports therein providing communication with the interior of said casing. l

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name. I r V FRANK PARDEE. 

